Interview: Hirate and Neru on the Christmas live performances

With all the seats sold for Keyakizaka46's three live performances on December 24-25, AbemaTV, a Japanese internet TV network, will  now broadcast the final performance on Christmas Night. The Network says that free reserved slots for watching the show -- which can only be seen via computers located in Japan -- are going fast.

On its website, the network has published an interview with Hirate Yurina and Nagahama Neru, who are in the midst of rehearsals for the concerts. 

-- You've done mini-lives at handshake events and so on, but this is on a much larger scale, isn't it?

Nagahama: We want to let people hear lots of songs, not just the title songs of our releases. We want to make this an opportunity to convey the good qualities of all these various songs. I'm worried that I have enough stamina, but we just have to do it. People will be spending their precious Christmas time with us, and we want to focus all our energies and go for it. After it's over, we want people to say to us: "That was a good live."

Hirate: Keyakizaka has unique choreography and songs with strong expressiveness, and there are many songs where all 21 members become one to create that expression, and convey the world view of each song.

-- I want to see this! What do you mean?



Nagahama: We want to create a live that conveys the world views of our songs and their lyrics. That's what we want people to enjoy. Today, looking toward the actual performances, all the members' feelings are united in this.

Hirate: Also -- and I won't go into detail (smiles) -- we'd like people to  pay attention to the set.

-- With so many people losing out on tickets, it's big news that people who can't be there will still be able to watch in real time, isn't it?

Hirate: As newcomers, and doing our first one-man live, we're very grateful for the chance to have so many people see us.

 -- Your friends at home and your relatives will be watching, too.

Nagahama: That's true. Friends where I'm from (Nagasaki) can't really come, and I'm happy about the live broadcast. I hope they will be able to feel as if they are there.

-- In what sort of setting would you like people to watch the broadcast?

Nagahama: It's right at Christmas, and I'd like it if people could watch with friends and relatives.

Hirate: I think lots of people will be having parties at home, and I'd be happy if they could watch our live video while they are having a good time. And with the kids singing along in high spirits (laughs).

-- Last year at this time, did you imagine you would be having a one-man live a year later?

Hirate: At this time last year, we still hadn't begun performing. We were doing lessons every day.

Nagahama: At Christmas, they made a cake in the dorm and we all ate it. We could never have imagined that we would be doing a live a year later.

Nagahama: This year has really gone by like the wind. Event by event, our work schedule has become denser and denser, and we feel as if we have gotten through it together. Now we're about to enter our second year, an extremely important year, and I think we have to focus ourselves and hone our abilities more and more.

Hirate: Suddenly a year has gone by, and I still have no self-confidence, and many regrets. In the coming year, I want to work hard to gain self-confidence, and to have no regrets.